2 visually impaired citizens uphold tax compliance

 
According to a press release, the two senior citizens, escorted by their children, recently walked to the headquarters, voluntarily declared and paid their real properties taxes, stating that it was their obligations to pay taxes for the development of the country.

Mrs. Anna Peabody (86 years) and Mrs. Victoria Ireland (78 years) who met with the Assistant Commissioner for Real Estate Tax Division, Isaac Beyan Stevens, said they had gone to settle their tax obligations on their residential properties.

Mrs. Peabody narrated that as a Liberian, she had been paying taxes for decades, and remains committed to doing that, despite her challenge, but expressed concern about the increase in the residential property tax rate.

According to Mrs Peabody, all of her properties have been registered with the LRA and are captured in the real estate property tax net. They thanked and encouraged the LRA to increase tax awareness and education to enlighten Liberians to embrace and cultivate a sustainable tax compliant culture.

Assistant Commissioner Stevens thanked the two senior citizens for demonstrating patriotism, loyalty, and commitment to their Country and urged other citizens and residents of Liberia to follow suit.

The two citizens urged the LRA to increase tax awareness and education to enlighten Liberians to embrace and cultivate a sustainable tax compliant culture. For her part, Mrs. Victoria Ireland, a longtime taxpayer herself, reaffirmed her commitment to voluntary tax compliance as she believes paying tax is a national obligation that contributes to Liberia’s development agenda. She also expresses concern about the increase in the real property tax rate.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to ease customs transactions and enhance transparent payment processing, the LRA will on Friday, March 16, lunch the Centralized Customs Declaration Processing System.

The new system, when switched on, will become assessable to the public to declare and process goods declarations in a paperless environment and reduce clearing periods, a release from the institution says.

“The aim of the LRA is to enable importers clear goods from customs ports with in at least five hours to a maximum there days,” Customs Commissioner Saa Saamoi said.

The structure will enable the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) to be available online through the internet while payment notices to declarants and releases to terminal operators will be automated.

The Centralized Customs Declaration Processing System is intended to eliminate all supporting customs clearings activities and promote electronic transmission through the use of the “Query and Amendment” portal in ASYCUDA for declaration of all queries pertaining to goods declarations.

LRA Compliance Officers will now operate the system from to the LRA Headquarters in Paynesville as there will no longer exist human interface between Customs Brookers and the officers during customs related transactions.

Customs Commissioner Saamoi said as the LRA gradually moves into modern customs administration, there will be a significant reduction in challenges and paper works importers go through to clear their good.